I’m getting a lot of contacts regarding Valley ONE Marathon. I’ve had a year to try and process what happened to the race and why.
The race started out with a vision of excellence and it did achieve that. I’m comfortable saying that the women’s marks of 1:09:55 and 2:30:02 will stand until another race course is specifically designed, and professional field is crafted to better them.
Why Valley? The pancake flat elevation, nothing more. Valley is a bedroom community with a vast tax base from the surrounding lake communities. Property owners that spend their money in Omaha. The event did benefit Omaha’s hotels and restaurants and more. It was more an inconvenience for Valley’s lake residents and town folk. The closed road course requiring over 100 police escorts, towed vehicles, and dozens of complaints. And this—Close to 40 uniformed police officers at time and one half for a minimum of 5 hours.
Important to note that the marathon was without a title or presenting sponsor. Valley ONE was funded by seed money from Nebraska Run Guru, registration fees, and a modicum of outside donations.
The race was against all odds in a lot of aspects. We struggled to find the local support necessary to conduct a major road race. It endured attempted take overs, historic flooding and a world wide pandemic.
I put on my first road race in 1983, coming up on my 40th year anniversary. Not done yet. Linda and I are keeping the Nebraska Trail Run -Run The Prairie. That race will celebrate its 17th edition this fall. Just mom and pop, back to our roots.
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